Who is David Kessler? Grieving expert speaks about the sixth stage of grief on Khloe Kardashian's podcast

David Kessler, the President of Grief.com, recently appeared as a guest on an episode of the podcast Khloe in Wonderland, hosted by Khloe Kardashian, on April 23, 2025.

Notably, David was heard explaining grief and its sixth stage after Khloe opened up to him about her battle to deal with the loss of her father, Robert, at a very young age.

The television said that she was 19 when Robert passed away, and it was that phase where she was “living life through autopilot” for some time, having no idea of what she was exactly doing with herself as she continued “navigating the best.” The X-Factor co-host further stated:

“I think I always try to remind the people around me when they are dealing with someone else’s loss and they are that person that they want to know how do they show up for someone. I just tell them just show up and as long as you’re there and yes, not trying to be like, ‘I’m going to get you through this’, like people have to feel their feelings.”

David Kessler responded by saying it is important to remember how people were there to support someone and showed up. Kessler mentioned a concept called “grief brain,” and science has already proved its existence. He elaborated the same and stated:

“When we are in grief, we can’t focus, we can’t concentrate, we can’t remember. And that’s why we need people in our lives to show up. One of the things we say to grievers is ‘What do you need?’ I don’t know what I need. I’m barely getting through the day. I didn’t make a list, I didn’t think they were doing to die.”

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David Kessler operates a podcast: Career and other details explained

The Rhode Island, US native has described himself as an author and public speaker on the bio of his LinkedIn page. The bio says that he has a long experience of being associated with the world of healthcare and hospitals, and is skilled in non-profit organizations, palliative care, and more.

David Kessler’s profile on the platform stated that he went to the University of Southern California in 1978 and completed his further studies from Loyola Marymount University, obtaining a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration and Management.

In addition, he has been operating a podcast titled Introducing Healing for around three years. The description on Spotify says that David speaks on trauma and perseverance while guests appear on his show. The podcast tries to find a solution to healing and understand what it would look like. The description also reads:

“All of us have experienced loss in our lives, and it’s not uncommon to get stuck in the aftermath – despair, disappointment, even self-sabotage. But behind every dark emotion lies wisdom and hope.”

David Kessler’s journey started as a board member of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, following which he worked at the Citrus Valley Health Partners as Chief Patient Support Operations Officer & Senior Executive.

He has been active as the President Emeritus at Project Angel Food since 1989 and is a board member for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation at the same time. He also joined a tech company called Empathy around five years ago as the Chief Empathy Officer.

Apart from these, he has written some books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief and Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach Us about the Mysteries of Life. David Kessler additionally keeps in touch with everyone through Instagram, where he is active with more than 90,000 followers.